"Blending Volunteer & Travel on the Open Road"
San Gorgonio Mountain with its snow-capped peaks.
San Gorgonio Mountain with its snow-capped peaks.

Joshua Tree National Park

Details
  • City: Yucca Valley
  • State: California
  • Camp: Black Rock Canyon
  • Trail: Arch, Heart, Hemingway and Hidden Valley
  • View: Split Rock, Skull Rock, Cap Rock, Coachella Valley, Salton Sea and San Gorgonio Mountain

We left our Tamarisk Grove campground in Anza-Borrego State Park and drove to Black Rock Campground in Joshua Tree National Park.   This was a shorter drive of 130 miles, but mostly all uphill on CA-62 from Palm Springs to Yucca Valley, California.   On the way, we were able see the Salton Sea clearly that day.  It had been foggy for a few days prior.

We spent the first full day exploring Joshua Tree National Park for the first time.  Our good friends, John and Lori met us here for a couple days as well.

We didn't have much expectation before coming into this park, and we were pleasantly surprised by all the Joshua Trees and rock outcrops in the desert landscape.   You will find many unique rocks, boulders and an arch to nudge your imagination.  This is a great park for kids (and adults) who like to climb on the rocks, including us!

We started from the west entrance on Park Boulevard to the north entrance.  We stopped at the Cap Rock picnic area and walked around to see some large boulders.  Next, we visited the Split Rock picnic area and had lunch with some amazing rock outcrops as our backdrop.  Once we finished, we explored the backside briefly before moving on to the Skull Rock.  This is an interesting rock that replicates a human skull.  We found that it’s best to avoid the bright sunlight when visiting this rock.  The deep pockets in the shadow or cloud cover help with the definition.

Our motorhome was too long to camp in the internal part of the park, but we wanted to scope out the Jumbo Rock and Belle campgrounds.  This is a spectacular place for small RVs like camper vans and Class C.   Tents are even better since you can pitch them right against the rocks for protection.

We took a couple of short hikes at the Arch and Heart trails.  From the Twin Tanks parking lot, this lollipop trail goes through sandy and rocky terrain for 1.4 miles.  The arch is located halfway along the loop.  This trail has no shade and no cell service.  In the same vicinity, you can connect to the Heart trail which leads to a heart-shape rock

As we drove around the park road, we could see San Gorgonio Mountain with its snow-capped peaks to the northwest.  The view provided a stark contrast against the desert floor peppered with the unmistakable Joshua Trees.  Although it’s not a tree but a member of the agave plant.

Our next full day’s adventure was all about rock exploring.   It was a much cooler, cloudier, and windy day but it made hiking and rock scrambling much more comfortable.   We also had a nice picnic lunch (again) at the Hidden Valley.   And this time, we did the Hemingway and Hidden Valley trails.  These rocks or boulders are just so much fun to climb.  Even adults like us felt like kids for the day.  A very popular spot but well worth the visit.

The monzogranite rocks are extremely fun to climb on. The texture is quite rough, and our hiking shoes literally gripped like gloves.  But we learned afterwards that it's no match for our phone/camera screen.   Don't put the phone in your back pocket when sliding down!

Our last stop was at Keys View of 5,185' elevation. This overlooks the Coachella Valley and the Salton Sea.  After visiting both Anza-Borrego SP and Joshua Tree National Park, it was nice to connect the dots back to Salton Sea.

If you've never been to Joshua Tree National Park, then you're in for a real treat.  We highly recommend spending at least one day in the park, but a few more days to cover it thoroughly.

The Great House protected by the 1932 CCC shelter.
The Great House protected by the 1932 CCC shelter.

Casa Grande Ruins National Monuent

Details
  • City: Coolidge
  • State: Arizona
  • Camp: Private Residence

Typically, we spend our winter months in Maricopa, AZ but have never visited the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument just less than 50 miles away.

 We decided to see the ancient ruins built by the Hohokam or Ancestral Sonoran Desert People (ASDP) around 5,500 BC.  The ASDP were hunters and gatherers at first but later became farmers and engineered one of the best water irrigation systems from the Gila River.  The only tools they had were sticks and rocks.  Yet, they were able to build a farming community of about 2,000 members for a hundred years as farmers.  They also traded with other local tribes as well.

While this may not sound astonishing, you have to know the Arizona desert. Finding surface water is almost impossible, yet the community was able to thrive back then.  The ASDP used every available resource around them, including building structures with cement-like materials called caliche.

Around 1,100 BC, villages became more formally organized. Caliche homes were grouped into caliche-walled compounds, and these compounds were arranged around public plazas and public structures.  The Great House was built within one of these compounds.  In 1932, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built a steel shelter to protect the Great House from the harsh weather.

The summer temperatures can reach 120° F and cause cracking in the foundation.  There was about a dozen members of the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) or Native American Conservation Corps (NACC) organization that was applying caliche to the existing structures to prevent erosions.  We watched several members mix the caliche while others carried buckets to apply on the surface. 

There are many ancient pueblos in the southwestern United States, and this ruin is just one classic example.  If you haven’t traveled through this portion of the country, be sure to check out some of the ruins along the way.

Heart of the Rocks
Heart of the Rocks

Chiricahua National Monument

Details
  • City: Willcox
  • State: Arizona
  • Camp: Grande Vista RV Park
  • Trail: Echo Canyon Loop, Heart of the Rock Loop, Inspiration Point, Lower Rhyolite Canyon, Sarah Deming, Ed Riggs & Mushroom Rock.
We departed Picacho Peak State Park, and headed east on I-10 towards Willcox, AZ.  This short-day drive is a nice section, including a brief stop at the Texas Canyon near Dragoon, AZ.  There's a nice rest area to pull over for a lunch break and stretch out your legs and view the spectacular rock outcrops.
 
We made reservations at Grande Vista RV Park since our motorhome exceeded the maximum length of 24' at the Bonita Canyon campground in Chiricahua National Monument.  Bonita Canyon campsites are primitive with no hookups.  We decided to stay at the RV park with full hookups and kept our pets comfortable with the A/Cs running.  It served our purpose and allow us to spend four days inside the park.  This 45-minute drive each way on AZ-186 was smooth, and not much traffic along this route.  It was worth the commute, and we really got to explore the park the way we intended.
 
We arrived at the RV park by noon, and decided to spend a few hours at Chiricahua NM.  Our purpose was to gather info and get a feel for the lay of the land.   As we drove towards the park, we noticed the snowy mountains at Coronado National Forest!  It seems so odd in a desert landscape.  But what's even more strange are these mammals that are native of South America!!!  Just as we rolled into the visitor center parking lot, we saw a large family of coatimundis or coatis. This is a first sighting of its kind for us.  The rock columns are so different in this landscape. It's not what you would expect to see hiding on the other side of the mountain.  Over the next three days, we hiked the Echo Canyon, Heart of the Rocks, and Inspiration Point trails.
 
The Echo Canyon Loop consists of three connecting trails from Echo Canyon to Hailstone to Ed Riggs trails. This rhyolite canyon tuff comes in a variety of formations: spire, column, pinnacle, and hoodoo. The Chiricahua Apache call these pinnacles “standing up rocks.”  Along this loop, we passed through the Grottoes, Wall Street, Echo Park, Spherulites and more. There was always something to look at around every turn. Often, we would have to stop and turn around to see what we missed behind us. We hiked for almost two hours before we saw the first person. It felt like we had the canyon to ourselves. The hike took us about three hours and covered just over six miles to complete.  We didn’t see any coatimundis but did get a close-up view of the Mexican Jay and Spotted Towhee.
 
Next was the Heart of the Rocks Loop. This consists of the Lower Rhyolite Canyon, Sarah Deming, and Heart of the Rocks trails. It took us five hours and 8.66 miles to complete, with a lot of hip-busting rocks to step up and down.  We started from the visitor center and hiked all uphill to the top.  First we entered the forest covered canyon, and then transitioned to more opened, but rocky section. Then it was all rock columns around the Heart of the Rocks Loop Trail.  We saw some of the prominent rock formations like the Big Balanced Rock, Pinnacle Balanced Rock, Old Maid, Camel's Head, Thor's Hammer, Punch and Judy, Duck on a Rock, and Kissing Rocks.  This was a great hike but well worth the effort.  On our return hike, it was all downhill and that itself was a nice reward.  Overall, this was a fabulous day with cooler weather and partly cloudy sky.  A perfect hiking experience!
 
Lastly, we completed the Inspiration Point hike. This round-trip hike consists of Ed Riggs to Mushroom Rock to Inspiration Point trails. It took about four hours and 6.80 miles to complete. In all, we hiked 21.6 miles over three days and covered most of the interior trails of the park.  There was one prominent feature called the Mushroom Rock. The Inspiration Point provided a nice aerial view of the rhyolite rocks below. We sat by the edge for a while and just soaked in the view.
 
This has been an enjoyable visit at the park for both of us. We would definitely come back again. And you should stop by if given the opportunity.
Mark Twain Memorial Shrine
Mark Twain Memorial Shrine

Mark Twain State Park

Details
  • City: Florida
  • State: Missouri
  • Camp: Puma
  • View: Mark Twain Birthplace Home

After two days of driving from Fort Collins, Colorado, we decided to take a little detour to visit Mark Twain State Park.  It was named after the famous humorist and writer, Mark Twain, whose real name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

We visited the historic site of his birth home.  His parents rented a two-room cabin in the town of Florida, Missouri.  Twain was born on November 30, 1835 and was raised in Hannibal, Missouri which sat next to the mighty Mississippi River.  This boyhood home was the inspiration for his books, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.  Over the years, he was a printer, typesetter and later became a riverboat pilot.  This also provided him materials for Life on the Mississippi River.

The campground has three loops: Badger, Coyote and Puma.  The Puma campground is closer to Mark Twain Lake and a short distance walk.  Most sites have either 30 or 50 amp electric, and some have full-hookup.  Most of the loops are well shaded by trees, and the fall colors were just starting to turn.  There are some rental cabins and shower houses throughout.  There's three hiking trails from within the campground: White Oak, Post Oak and Dogwood. It's a nice campground and we found ourselves very relaxed after two days.

The picnic area has a 9-hole disc golf course, a 1941 CCC shelter with fireplace, and two hiking trails: Whitetail & Dogwood.  You can hike between the campground and picnic area on Dogwood trail.

This is definitely a fishing, boating, kayaking and paddleboarding lake!  While we had our kayaks with us, it was simply about relaxing and enjoying the nature.  It was a welcome change for us after seeing mostly ponderosa pines and quaking aspens in the Colorado mountains for months to short-leaf oak, pine and hickory.

The town of Florida is just a few miles north of the campground on MO-107.  This is where you will find Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site.  The two-room cabin is located inside the shrine.  The museum has a vast collection of Mark Twain's personal items, including the original handwritten manuscript of Adventure of Tom Sawyer in 1876, his furniture, glasses, pipe, hat, horse carriage and more.  There's also an 1850s two-story log cabin on display in town.  These were typical cabins found in the Salt River area.

We would definitely come back to this area for a longer visit, take our kayaks out on the lake, and explore the woods on the many hiking trails.

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